1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is or includes a novel hand tool, as used in a kit and method including use of a pry bar hand tool for removing or pulling fluid seals located about shafts extending through passages in walls such as engine blocks and the like.
2. Brief Description of the Related Prior Art
In the prior art, fluid seals are applied around shafts to seal between the shaft and hole in which the shaft passes. The shaft seals commonly are circular (annular) and include a metal outer flange for tight-fit frictional engagement against the walls defining or surrounding the bore through the wall, with the metal flange supporting an inner circle of rubbery impervious or seal material engaging and sealing against the shaft. Such seals commonly but not always include circular tension springs engaged with the rubbery seal material to aid in forming an improved liquid tight seal against the shaft. Such seals periodically need to be removed to allow replacing of the shafts or the seal itself, or to allow the performance of other tasks. Such shaft seals are generally not easily or readily removed from the seal seat in the wall using conventional tools and methods, and this primarily due to the frictional fit of the metal portion of the seal being jammed tightly against the annular wall defining or surrounding the bore in the wall, engine block or transmission bell.
It is admitted that a variety of hand tool type pry bars of a type which can be used as part of or as a component of the present invention are prior art and well known. Virtually all automobile or vehicle mechanics have a suitable general purpose xe2x80x9cJxe2x80x9d shaped pry bar available for use in their tool box.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,904,074 issued May 18, 1999 to R. Herbert describes a tool for pulling packing material from about a shaft. The Herbert tool is directed at pulling xe2x80x9cpackingxe2x80x9d and thus uses a helical or corkscrew element designed for screwing into and thereby grasping the packing material to be pulled. The Herbert device or arrangement uses a pry bar applied against fixed position lugs of a hand tool design by Herbert. One lug is pried against at a time. The Herbert xe2x80x9clugsxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9clugxe2x80x9d are similar to what we call a xe2x80x9cpry basexe2x80x9d as will become appreciated with continued reading. We consider the Herbert lugs being fixed at predetermined intervals along the length of a shaft of the Herbert tool to be far less than desireable. Fixed position lugs do not provide sufficient versatility in the position of the ready to use pry bar. Herbert applies multiple fixed position lugs along the length of his tool shaft in an attempt to provide a usable degree of lug positionings, wherein the user selects the nearest suitably positioned lug to pry against, which, in our opinion, in many instances simply will not be optimally positioned. The position of the lug pried against clearly effects the position the tip and lever portions of the pry bar. The position of the pry bar tip has a direct effect on the position of the long lever portion of the pry bar. Many times, such as in the cramped confines of a bell type housing, engine compartment or the like, there is simply little room to maneuver the pry bar in order to properly apply pressure to the fixed position xe2x80x9clugxe2x80x9d of the Herbert pulling tool.
The engines, transmissions and engine compartment and the like in modern vehicles continue to be made smaller with the passage of time, and therefore it is becoming increasingly important to provide greater versatility and precision in tools such as a shaft seal puller used to work on such components. Thus, we believe there is a need for further improvement in shaft seal puller tools and methods.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,577,848 issued May 11, 1971 to R. Mengle, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,649,618 issued Mar. 17, 1987 to S. Harrison are cumulative to the Herbert disclosure.
The present invention is or includes a novel hand operated puller tool which may be considered to be used in a kit and or method including use of a separate pry bar hand tool for removing or pulling fluid seals located about shafts extending through passages in walls such as engine blocks and the like.
Our invention is directed primarily toward but not limited to use with seals of engines and associated parts of autos, trucks, SUVs and the like, which as is well known, include drive shafts, crank and cam shafts and the like passing into or through holes or bores in blocks, bell and transmission housings and the like. With the present invention, seal pulling force gained through the use of leverage is very controlled and of a high level due to the use of directionally proper leverage, and thus the process of removing even a very firmly secured seal in a confined area is readily and safely accomplished.
Our invention uses a pry bar, preferably one which is generally xe2x80x9cJxe2x80x9d shaped, in combination with a specifically designed hand tool or puller tool to remove fluid seals secured in bores or passages through walls, wherein the seals encircle shafts to form a fluid seal about the shaft passing through the wall. Because our invention uses a puller tool and a separate pry bar, the invention can be considered, at least from one viewpoint, to be a seal pulling kit comprised of a pry bar and specifically designed puller tool. Our tool is more directed for use with seals of the type which are commonly circular (annular) and include a metal outer flange for tight-fit frictional engagement against the block walls defining or surrounding the bore through the wall, with the metal flange retaining an inner circle of rubbery seal material engaging and sealing against the shaft. The rubbery seal material may in many cases be biased inward tighter against the shaft with a circular tension spring. The metal flange and rubbery seal material of such shaft seals are installed and removed as a unit. A preferred embodiment of the present puller tool includes change-out or removable blade inserts having differently shaped/sized tips so that different styles, types and or sizes of seals or even packing material can be pulled.
The pry bar used includes a grippable area on a long or longer portion serving to provide leverage in a connected curved area, the curved area for abutment with a surface to form a pivot and fulcrum, and a tip for pushing is provided connected to the other side of the curve portion/fulcrum of the pry bar. The term connected does not necessarily mean two pieces attached, as most pry bars are single piece construction or integrally formed. The preferred pry bar is generally xe2x80x9cJxe2x80x9d shaped, but does not usually have a transverse member at the end of the long lever portion like the letter xe2x80x9cJxe2x80x9d.
Our puller tool in preferred embodiment is an elongate shaft structure including a hook in a first area; a grippable surface in a second area, and a selectively positionable pry base mounted in an intermediate area between the first and second areas on the shaft, with the term intermediate not herein required to mean centered or perfectly centered. The pry base is a xe2x80x9cpry bar abutment memberxe2x80x9d or shoulder preferably providing material 360 degrees around the supporting shaft, and so in a preferred version the pry base is a disk of rigid material. The grippable surface or graspable surface depending upon the particular embodiment of the puller tool, may be either a handle for grasping by the human hand, or may be threaded shafting or the like to be grasp or held with an auxiliary tool member which includes a handle or graspable surface, the grasping in either case being for grasping by hand or with a grasping tool and positionally manipulating the puller tool. The pry base can be manually repositioned relative to the hook (toward or away) along a lengthwise axis and is stationary against unwanted moving along the tool lengthwise axis once positioned or when pried against due to low slope threads in one preferred embodiment. A 90 degree and an offset puller tool are also herein disclosed. To use the combination to remove a seal about a shaft, the hook of the puller tool is manually guided and slipped in-between the shaft and seal, the hook is then pull forward and engages the back side of the seal, and preferably against the metal flange if possible, with this being a single handed operation. Using the other hand, the mechanic positions the pry bar in as near of a start position as possible. The pry base of the puller tool is positioned or is moved to be positioned a proper distance from the tip and fulcrum of the curve of the pry bar with the fulcrum abutting against a stationary surface such as an engine block or transmission bell, the pry bar tip placed against the pry base face which is facing the seal, and the lever portion of the pry bar nearer or even a little to the side and beyond the center line of the engine shaft so that the pry bar can be pivoted outward away from the shaft to in effect raise the pry tip away from the seal to be pulled. The preferred repositionable pry base and puller tool as a whole is one which allows the mechanic to hold the puller tool in place with the hook engaging the seal using the first three or four fingers and palm of the hand stabilizing the tool and shaft while using the thumb and maybe the index finger to reposition the pry base relative to the pry tip of the properly positioned pry bar. The preferred one-handed repositioning of the pry base allows the mechanic to hold the pry bar with pry tip in place and with the other hand to hold the puller tool with hook engaged behind the seal and then to make a fine position adjustment to the pry base, which more times than not will be to move the pry base onto or snugly against the tip of the properly positioned pry bar, which is a direction of toward the seal to be pulled. The pry bar is then manually moved in a direction to move the pry bar tip outward away from the seal or somewhat along the center lengthwise axis of the shaft about which the seal is placed, to push the pry base and thus hook away from the seal seat and pull the seal with the hook. The present seal puller tool includes the pry base against which the tip of the pry bar is applied being adjustable along the length of the puller tool shaft or toward and away from the hook, infinite adjustability is provided in a preferred embodiment. xe2x80x9cinfinitexe2x80x9d is herein used to mean smooth or without steps or increments, and of course the pry base can only be moved within a movement range or range of travel, the range in the threaded version limited by the threads and terminations thereof. The position of the pry bar tip has a direct effect on the position of the long lever portion of the pry bar. We believe it is very important to be able to adjust, and in very small increments and preferably infinitely, the position of the pry base against which the pry bar tip is applied. Many times, such as in the cramped confines of a bell housing or the like, there is little room to maneuver the pry bar in order to properly apply pressure to the seal pulling tool, and through the infinite or small incremental adjustment of the pry base of our pulling tool, one can maximize the use of the limited space by being able to select the best position of the pry bar with the tip thereof firmly against the pry base. Typically, the lever portion of the pry bar will be nearer the shaft or center line at the beginning of pulling the seal, and then move outward or away from the shaft in the process of pulling the seal. The seal may not always be fully removed before the outwardly swinging lever portion of the pry bar engages an obstacle restricting further outward movement, with this being a situation wherein the lever (pry bar) is then moved (pivoted) back toward the shaft to provide space between the pry base and the tip of the pry bar, then the human operator moves the pry base toward the seal and against the tip of the pry bar, then the pry bar is again manually levered outward pulling the seal further if not fully from its seat. Usually a seal can be removed in just one or two of these levering operations, but more than two levering operations can be applied. The infinite or small incremental adjustability of the pry base along the length of the puller tool allows for precision and optimized operations, and in one preferred embodiment is accomplish via the pry base being threadably engaged with threads of a threaded shaft portion of our puller tool, wherein the human user can simply rotate the pry base with his/her thumb or thumb and fingers toward or away from the seal, the pry base traveling on the threads along the length of the threaded shaft, the direction of travel determined by the direction of rotation applied by the user, wherein clockwise rotation moves the pry base in one direction and counterclockwise rotation of the pry base moves it in an opposite direction along the lengthwise axis of the shaft to which the base is threadably mounted. Again, this adjustability of the position of the pry base in a preferred embodiment can be achieved by the finger(s) (thumb is herein considered a finger) of the hand holding the puller tool in place ready to be pried against, this allows the other hand to hold the pry bar in the best position for starting a seal removal operation. The threads engaged between the puller tool shaft and the pry base are sloped to provide the travel when manually rotated, but are sufficiently near horizontal or low sloped (not steep unless a lock is applied) not to allow the pry base to rotate and thus give unwanted travel when pried against with the pry bar in a seal pulling operation, and while some rotation and travel of the pry base may occur while pried against, it is not a significant amount and in fact allows for better angular adjustments between the pry base and pry bar tip as the relative angles thereof change with the pivoting pry bar.
Our puller tool can have differently shaped seal engaging ends other than the xe2x80x9chookxe2x80x9d which we believe will be used most of the time. The hook can be of differing sizes and shapes too. Also, other arrangement not using the described threads, such as a pry base with affixed collar and set-screw (thumb set-screw) securable to the tool shaft, or a slidable collar affixed to the pry base with an over-center lever-handled cam lock for example, can also be used to achieve the basic end results and therefore the threaded engagement of the pry base to the shaft of the puller tool is preferred but for example. Exposed threads can be damaged in some circumstances and so infinitely or fine incremental adjustable pry base allowing structural arrangements not having exposed threads may be more preferred in some use situations.
In a preferred embodiment, the spacing between the handle (grippable or graspable area of the puller tool) and seal engagement hook is adjustable, with this basically allowing the lengthening or shortening of the overall or entire puller tool by the mechanic, again rendering the puller tool versatile for good functionality under various working conditions and spaces.
A greater appreciation of our invention may be gained with continued reading and with a study of our drawings.